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Updated Revit importer

Updated Revit importer

We need an updated Revit importer.

 

Currently the Revit importer is close to being useless if there's any issues within the Revit file itself.

If there is a missing linked file or there's a linked file that needs to be upgraded etc etc most of the time it'll take about an hour to import before giving a vague error message of "improper file format" or "exception occurred while importing"

 

Ive found the only way to fix this is have someone open the file in Revit, detach it from central, fix all of the missing links of disable them completely before resaving and even then its hit or miss if you managed to find the actual issue at which point you're forced to manually open every single linked file, run the ridiculously tedious and often multi-hour long upgrade process, re-save and try and import again.

 

Revit imports like this often take an entire day just to get into max if you have to chase down a problem through dozens of linked BIM files, upgrading and fixing each one of them to find the bit that the max importer took issue with.

 

If you work in a closed pipeline within a single company (which with BIM projects is rarely the case) then you can simply go and speak to someone in the team and ask them to either export it as an FBX for you or fix the Revit file.

 

However if you don't have access to that team, don't have Revit yourself and don't have a trial to activate you're completely stuck. Unable to do your job and unable to fix it.

 

The solution to a bad importer shouldn't be to buy Revit to make the Revit file acceptable to the importer.

Max should be able to handle this issue itself and offer warnings that there are missing links, and state which file they're in and give you the option to ignore the missing parts or abandon the import. I should just be able to import the file without those links. It should absolutely not stop dead, unable to import any geometry from the file purely because one of the links is problematic.

1 Comment
TB_RIO
Advocate

Just to add to this - the coordinate system for import Revit>Max leaves a lot to be desired.

It seems that the geo always imports with the Revit internal origin as the Max origin, something that can not be edited by the Revit user.

The options should be to use the above, project origin or survey origin. The latter two are far more likely to be in a sensible position in relation to the project model.

For example if the Revit user imports a topo survey it will often be located to World position - i.e. the datum point of the survey is placed at the internal origin. This then becomes the world origin when the geo is imported in to max, leaving the model large distances from the world origin. If Revit links are being used this model should not be moved from its original position as any additions to the Revit model would be added in the original position when the link is refreshed.

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